The Strain, the vampire thriller drama from Carlton Cuse, Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, will conclude its run on FX next year. The cable network has given the series, which is midway through airing its third season, a renewal for a fourth and final season to air in Summer 2017.
“We sincerely thank Carlton Cuse, Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan and their creative team as well as the fantastic cast for three exciting seasons of The Strain,” said FX Networks president of original programming Nick Grad. “Though we’re sad to see it go, we fully support the way in which they are crafting the fourth season’s dramatic conclusion.”
While for many series the decision to end it is a forced one by the networks, The Strain was always designed for a limited run.
Back at the pilot stage, FX topper John Landgraf in August 2013 said that The Strain would produce “39-65 episodes, no less, no more,” adding, “What if a television show could be just the length that is optimal for that story?” His statement echoed del Toro’s September 2012 comments to Deadline that he believed the book trilogy from him and Hogan, on which the series was based, had enough juice to fill three to five seasons.
“Our original plan was for the series to last three years,” Cuse said today after the renewal of the fourth and final season was announced. “Once we began telling that story it expanded to be more. After finishing the writing on Season 3, Guillermo, Chuck and I looked at our remaining story and felt the best version could be told in one more season. We have a fantastic plan for an exciting and climatic Season 4. We are deeply grateful to FX for supporting our vision and for allowing us to end the show on our own timetable.”